Cylinder looper



Oct 1934.

T. H. DE SPAIN CYLINDER LOOP 23. 1951 a Sheeis-Sheet 1 Filed D T [10m D65 0,

' Oct. 2, 1934. T, DE A N 1,975,715

CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec. 25, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwwznkov A awn/war? T. H. DE SPAIN CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec.

Oct. 2, 1934.

23, 1951 8 Sheets Sheet 3 I ll T. H. DE SPAIN 1,975,715

CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec. 2:5, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 4' Oct. 2, 1934.

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T. H. DE SPAIN CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec. 23, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 7 gwomto o ThomasHDaibfll'n,

Gd. '2, 1934. T. H. bE SPAIN CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec. 23, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 L WS , 1934- T. H. DE SPAIN CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec. 2:5, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet 7 701E: ru

720m HDeJ Zain, $11 W L4 M J T. H. DE SPAIN CYLINDER LOOPER Filed Dec. 23,1951

Oct. 2,1934.

8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented Oct. 2, 1934 UNITED sr-T'Es CYLINDER LOOPER Thomas H. De Spain, Paducah, Ky., assignor to Southern Textile Machinery Company, Paducah, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application December 23, 1931, Serial No. 582,858

20 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in sewing machines, .and particularly to a type of-sew ing machine especially adapted for uniting a plurality of pieces of tubular knitted fabric. Ma-

chines of this type are quite often referred to in the industry as cylinder loopers.

, One object of-the invention consists in providing for a relative movement between the work and the sewing mechanism of the machine, in

. combination with a drive mechanism, whose operationis so timed that the sewing mechanism will continue to operate and form a plurality of stitches, after the seam between the two pieces of materialbeing unitedhas been finished. With an arrangement such as this, there is formed what will be termed a chaining ofi, i. e., the formation of a series of. stitches, after the relative movement of the work and the sewing mechanism, so that by cutting this series'of stitches, the fin ished work may be removed and new work substituted and operated upon withcutthe necessity of re-threading the sewing mechanism;

Another object of the'invention is the provision of a novel form of stop motion mechanism that will periodically renderthe machine inoperative for the removal of finishedwork and the substitution of new work.

As has been mentioned, means are provided for effecting a relative movement of the work and sewing mechanism, but it is preferred, in accordance with the present invention, to obtain this result by moving the-work, or work support, with respect to the sewing mechanism.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will'hereinafter be more fully described, and the novel features thereof particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein there is illustrated one embodiment of the present in,-

vention, V

- Figure l is a plan view of the machine; i

Fig. 2 is a side-elevation'with a portion broken Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view 'on the line 33 of Fig. 1; 7 a

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 6- is a similar view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; v v l Fig. '7 is a horizontal section on the line-'Z-Z of Fig. 6; v

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 88 of Fig. l; v I

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating the stop motion mechanism in the position 00 cupied-by the same, while the machine is in ops 6 eration; a

Fig. 10 is a similar view, with parts in positions assumed by them when the machine is inoperative;

Figs. 11, 11A are detailed views of the latch mounting and latch for retaining the drive mechanism in operative position;

Fig. 1 2 is a detailed view of said latch and its cooperating member; 7

Fig. 13 is a more or less diagrammatic illustration of the means for forming the additional stitches in efiecting the chaining off operation; v

Fig. 14 is a detailed perspective view of the lower worm gear. illustrated in Fig. 13; I

Fig. 15 is a transverse sectional view on th line 1515 of Fig. 3.- i

Fig. 16 is an elevational view of the work cylinder. I

As stated, the invention is illustrated in the present instance as embodied in a cylinder looper, but it will be understood thatits features are not necessarily limited to use in a machine of that particular type. It will also be appreciated that so far as-the objects of the present invention are concerned, the invention is not limited to use with any particular form of sewing mechanism. Therefore, the sewing mechanism has not been illustrated in any great detail, and little description thereof willbe given in the following specification. In the present instance the sewing mechanism comprises the usual needle 86 mounted in the oscillating needle arm 87; the stitch finger 88 and the looper 89.

Described generally, the machine comprises a sewing mechanism operable from a main drive shaft and. means for rotatably supporting a workholding cylinder in such fashion that this cylinder, with the work thereon, may be brought into position with respect to the sewing mechanism, so that the work or the two pieces of tubular knit-' ted material, may be joined together. After the two pieces of material have been joined by a seam formed by the sewing mechanism. the work-carrying cylinder and the support therefor,. are moved away from the sewing mechanism but the sewing mechanism'continues in operation until some four or five or more stitches havebee'n formed, whereby the thread may be severed without requiring the sewing mechanism to be rea threaded when the next work-carrying cylinder is brought into operative relation with respect to the sewing mechanism. The work-carrying cylinder is removably held in its support, so that a plurality of these cylinders can be interchangeably used in the support. In this way, the operator of the machine can be placing the knitted materials on certain cylinders while the machine is operating on work on a cylinder in the machine. As mentioned, there is a chaining off" operation, due to the fact that the sewing mechanism continues to operate after the work-carrying cylinder has been moved away from the mechanism. However, the sewing mechanism is automatically rendered inoperative at a predetermined time, so that none of the operating parts are in motion at the time the thread is severed or during the substitution of one work cylinder in the machine, for another.

Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a frame 20, and at the rear of said frame there is a standard 21, formed with lateral offsets as at 22, 23. The offset portion 23 has a bearing therein for the main drive shaft 24, and the upper offset portion 22 serves as a support for the major portion of the sewing mechanism. At its forward end, the sides 25 of the frame are formed with ways 26 for a slidable work support or carriage. This work support or carriage consists of the work supporting plate 27 and a depending housing 28, the housing being closed at its forward end by plate 29.

In the present machine, the sewing mechanism is of the overseam stitch type, common in the art, and the needle, looper, hook and stitch finger of said mechanism are actuated by suitable mechanism, operatively associated with the main drive shaft 24. Power is supplied to shaft 24 by a pulley 30, to which is attached one element 31, of a clutch, and the other element 32 of said clutch is associated with said drive shaft 24. In addition to the bearing in bracket 21 for the drive shaft, there are additional bearings, for instance, as at the side of the base 20, remote from puli ley 30.

As has been said, the present machine is for use in uniting two pieces of knitted material. The two pieces of material constituting the Work are placed on a cylinder 33 (see Fig. 16) by looping the stitches of the work on the points 34 on said cylinder. The present machine was designed primarily for the purpose of uniting the boots and tops of stockings, so that alined stitches of each boot and top are inserted on the pins 34 of the work cylinder 33. The operator of the present machine will have a plurality of these work cylinders, so that the boot and top of a stocking can be placed on one ring while another ring is in the machine being operated upon, the cylinders 33 being removably inserted in a recess formed in a rotatable member 35 supported on plate 27, but

projecting therethrough into the housing 28, with its lower end provided with means for impart- 'ing a rotary motion thereto. These means consist of a pair of gears 36, 37, the two gearsbeing of the same diameter, but one having a greater number of teeth than the other for the purpose of effecting the chaining off operation, as will be described in detail later on. These gears mesh with a worm 38 on a shaft 39, journaled in suitable beari'ngs 40 within the housing 28. Shaft 39 carries a gear 41 which meshes with a worm 42 on a shaft 43, said shaft projecting through the housing 28 and carrying at its end a gear 44 which meshes with a gear 45, on the main drive shaft 24. The shaft 43 projects freely through the housing 23, so that when the work support, carrying the work cylinder, is moved away from the sewing mechanism, the housing is free to move also with respect to shaft 43. Likewise, the worm 42 is keyed on shaft 43 but is positioned between two depending brackets 46 carried by the housing 28, whereby the worm 42 can slide back and forth on the shaft 43, so as to be always operatively associated with the gear 41 on shaft 39. By means of this mechanism, the work cylinder which is keyed in its recess by the key 4'7, engaging in slot 48 (see Figs. 15, 16), will be rotated whenever the clutch elements 31, 32 are in driving relation.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the work support, in its sliding movement toward and from the sewing mechanism, carries with it not only the work cylinder, but also all of the driving connections for said cylinder down to the gear 42, so to speak. Normally, the housing 28 carrying the work cylinder is yieldingly urged toward the sewing mechanism by the spring 49, attached to said housing and to a post 50 on the base 20. To move the housing 28 away from the sewing mechanism, the lower gear 37 within the housing is formed with a cam surface 51 adapted to engage a pin 52 that abuts against an abutment 53 adjustably secured to the base 26. Preferably, abutment 53 is in the form of a standard on a plate 54. Plate 54 has slots 55 therein, the plate being secured to the base by bolts 56 extending through said slots. When the cam 51 is in engagement with the pin'52, the housing 8 and the parts carried thereby will be pushed away from the sewing mechanism and remain in that position until the cam 51 has moved past pin 52.

The clutch mechanism 31, 32,'of the machine is actuated by a hand lever 57 pivoted at the side of the machine on bolt 58, said lever being of the bell crank type and having attached to its arm 59 a link 60 which in turn is connected to a second bell crank lever 61 pivoted on bolt 62. Operating handle 57 is normally held in inoperative position by a spring 84. Arm 63 of this second bell crank lever is adapted to engage a pin 64 mounted in a plunger 65 slidable in a bearing 66 in a casting 67 mounted on the base 20 of the machine. Pin 64 projects through a slot 68a in a lever 68 pivoted on bolt 62 with its free end attached to the clutch member 32 so that by rocking said lever the clutch members may be brought into clutching position totransmit motion to drive shaft 24. In order to render it unnecessary for the operator to hold the clutch in clutching position during normal operation of the machine, there is pivoted on the casting 67 a latch such as shown in Fig. 11A. This latch comprises a projecting latch portion 69 and an offset portion 70 that extends upwardly between the plunger 65 and an arm '71 of the bell crank lever 61 to which the link 60 is attached. This upwardly extending portion 70 of the latch is yieldingly urged toward the plunger 65 by spring '75. With this arrangement, when the bell crank lever 61 is rocked, its arm 63 engages the pin 64 and moves plunger 65, permitting lever 68 to move until the clutch elements 31, 32 are operatively engaged, the movement of one clutch element toward the other being augmented, if desired,-by having them yieldingly urged toward one another by springs as is common practice. This sliding movement of the plunger causes a recess 76 in the plunger to be brought into registry with the latching projection 69, so that in the absence of any obstruction, said projection 69 will enter said recess and-hold the clutch elements together.- I-Iowever, the latching projection 69 cannot immediately enter the recess 76, because of the position, at that time, of certain elements of the stop motion mechanism. These elements consist of a lever 7'7 pivoted at '78 in a projection 79 formed on housing 28, one end of said lever being adapted to engage the projection of the latchand' the other end of said lever being engaged by a'plung'er 80' extending through the housing 28 with its inner end located in the path of cam 51. These parts are illustrated in Fig. 10, in the positions they occupy when the machine is at rest, and when in these positions, it will be seen that the immovability of plunger 89 and lever 77 prevents the movement of the latch projection 70 toward the plunger 65 under the influence of spring 75. However, when the operator throws the clutch in by manipulation of operating lever 57, he will hold it there for a comparatively short period of time, during which the cam 51 will move out of contact with both the pin 52 and the plunger 80. The moment this occurs, the plunger 86 is then free to move inwardly of housing 28 and the lever '77 is free to rock on its pivot so that the spring will then pull the latch projection 69 into the recess 76 of the plunger 65, in which positions the partswill remain until they are automatically thrown out of engagement, an action which does not take place until after the seam for uniting two pieces of material on the'work cylinder has been completed. When this seam has been completed,

and the chaining off operation also completed,

the cam 51 will again comeinto engagement with the plunger and rock the lever 77, so as to rock the latch 69 and disengage it from the plunger 65. As soon as the latch is thus disengaged, a spring 81 coiled around the plunger 65 and interposed between the enlargement 82 on said plunger and the casting 67, will cause said plunger to move in a direction opposite to that in which it was moved by the operating handle when the machine was started, thereby causing the pin 64 to rock the lever 68 and disengage the clutch elements, thus stopping the machine.

Referring to Figs. 9 and 16, the operations described will be repeated in thesequence in which they occur. Starting with the parts in their inoperative position in Fig. 10, bell crank lever 61 is rocked so that its arm 63 engages the pin 1 64 and moves the plunger 65 in its bearing 66. This movement of'theplungerbrings the recess -'76 into alinement with the latching projection 69 and also rocks the lever 68 to engage the clutch elements. The main drive shaft is thus placed in operation and the sewing mechanism is also rendered operative. Gears 36, 3'7, the latter carrying the cam 51, alsostart to revolve. Upon revolution of these gears; the cam 51 rides ofi of the pin 52, whereupon the housing 28 carrying the work cylinder is moved toward the sewing mechanism under the influence of spring 49. As the lever 77 is carried by the housing, there is no relativemovementbetween these parts to cause a jamming of parts during-this movement of the housing. Continued rotation "of the gear 37 causes the cam 51 to ride out of engagement with the plunger-80 whereupon the spring '75 rocks the latch member and moves the latch element 69 into the recess in plunger 65. These operations occur in a veryshort period of time and after they have occurred, the operator can then release the operating lever 57 and the machine will continue in operation until the gear 37has made a complete revolution. When this has occurred, as indicated in Fig 9, the cam first engages the pin 52 and forces the housing, together with'the work cylinder away from the sewing mechanism. The sewing mechanism is not, however, rendered inoperative at this moment, but continues to form stitches, so as to chain off, so to speak, from the work. This chaining off operation continues untilthe cam 51 engages the plunger 80, it being shown as about ready to engage said plunger in Fig. 9. When it does engage the plunger, the lever 77 is rocked and the latch element 69 is kicked out of the recess in the plunger 65, whereupon under theinfiuence of spring 61, the plunger is moved reversely in its bearing and the pin 64 moves the lever 68 to disengage the clutch elements. The thread may then be severed at the end of the chaining off stitches by depressing a plunger 92 which moves a pivoted knife past afixed knife 91. r

It would appear that the work cylinder would only make one complete revolution between the time that the operator actuated the operating lever 57, and the time when the clutchelements would disengage through the action of plunger 80, so that there could be no chaining off, but a seam formed around the work cylinder. .However, to allow for this chaining-ofi,the-gear 36, which is attached to the cylinder support 35.'has

only sixty teethywhereas the gear. 37 on which the cam 51 is formed and which is loose on'the member 35, has seventy teeth. Therefore, the gear which revolves the work cylinder travels at a greater rate of. speed than the .gear carrying the cam 51, so that the workcylinder carrying the materials to be united will complete its revolu tion, and the seam for uniting the materials will be completed, .before the cam51 comes into engagement with the pin 52 for the purpose'of moving the work away from the sewing mechanism. After thepin 52 has been engaged by the cam 51, the cam must then travel until it engages the plunger 80 before thedrive mechanism is rendered inoperative and it is during this movement of the cam that the chaining off stitches are formed by the sewing mechanism. Due to this inequality in the number of teeth on the gears 36, 37, the teethon gear 3'7 have portions of their crowns removed as shown in Fi 14.

Preferably, the diiference in the number of teeth on the gears 36, 3'7, is such that the work cylinder will make a little more than a complete revolution between the time the cylinder is moved in sewing position and when it is moved out of sewing position. In this way,; the seam made by the stitching overlaps at its ends and thereby forms a strong substantial union between the two pieces of material. The additional teeth necessary for the overlap-in the seam are in addition to the teeth required for the chaining off before described.

In order to prevent the loops or stitches of the materials being displaced from the pins 34 of cylinders 33, a hold-down plate or stitch plate 85 is pivotally supported'on the'rnachine frame. During the sewing operatiomthis plate is swung into the position shown inFigs. 1 and 3 and will hold the stitches or loops down on the points 34. When the work is to be removed from the points or pins the plate can be swung back out'of the way. This feature is fully shown and described in applicants co-pending application Serial No. 582,857, filed December 23, 1931, which discloses a machine wherein the sewing mechanism if moved relativelyto the work support for forming the chaining off stitches. This latter fea" ture is, therefore, notto be limited to a construction wherein the work support is moved relatively to the sewing mechanism.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the type described, a sewing mechanism, a rotatable. work support, means for moving said support away from said mechanism, means for rendering said mechanism inoperative, and means rotatable at a rate of speed less than that of the revolving support for rendering the last two means operable.

2. In a machine of the type described, a sewing mechanism, a rotatable work support, means for moving said support'away from said mecha nism, means for rendering said mechanism in operative, and means rotatable at a rate of speed less than that of the revolving support for rendering the last two means operable, the means for moving the support away from the sewing mechanism being rendered operative in advance of said sewing mechanism being rendered inoperative whereby stitches will be formed after the work support has moved away from the sewing mechanism.

3. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a rotatable worksupport, a gear journaled on said support, means for rotating said support and gear, and means operable by said gear for effecting a relative movement of the work support and sewing mechanism.

4. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a rotatable work support, a gearjournaled on said'support, means for rotating said support and gear, means operable by said gear for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperative, and means operable by said gear for effecting a relative movement of the work support and sewing mechanism. I

5. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a rotatable work support, a gear journaled on said support, means for rotating said support and gear, means operable by said gear for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperative, and means operable by said gear for effecting a relative movement of the work support and sewing mechanism, said sewing mechanism being rendered inoperative after the relative movement of said work support and sewing mechanism.

6. In a machine of the type described, the combination 'of a sewing mechanism, a rotatable work support movable'relatively to said mechanism, a cam. member rotatable at a speed less than the speed of said support, and means operable by said cam member for moving said support away from the sewing mechanism and for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperable.

7. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a work support 8. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a housing movable toward and from said mechanism, a work support journaled in said housing, means for moving said housing away from said mechanism and means for rendering said mechanism inoperative.

9. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a housing slidable toward and from said mechanism, a work support rotatable in said housing, a cam member'carried by said housing, and means operatively associated with said cam for moving the housing away from the sewing mechanism and rendering said mechanism inoperative.

10. In a machine of the type described, a base, a sewing mechanism on said base, a work support slidable with respect to said mechanism, a clutch controlled drive shaft on said base, an abutment fixed on the base, a cam engageable with said abutment for moving said support away from the sewing mechanism, and clutchoperating connections operable by said cam.

11. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a base, a drive shaft on said base, a clutch for said shaft, means for releasably hold.- ingsaid clutch in operative position, a sewing mechanism operable by said shaft, a work support movable to and from said sewing mechanism, means for rotating said support, and means operable in conjunction with the rotative movement of said support for moving the support away from the sewing mechanism and for releasing said clutch.

12. In amachine of the type described, the

combination of a base,'a drive shaft on said base, a clutch for said shaft, means for yieldingly holding isaid clutch disengaged, means for releasably holding said clutch engaged, a sewing mechanism on said base actuated from said shaft, a rotatable work support movable to and from the sewing mechanism, means operable in conjunction with the rotative movement of said support for moving the same away from the sewing mechanism,

and means controlled by the rotative movement 3' of the support for releasing the clutch.

13. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a" base, a drive-shaft, a sewing mechanisrnoperable from said shaft, an abut- ,ment on said base, a housing slidable on said base toward and from said mechanism, a work holder carried in said housing, a cam carried by said housing engageable with said abutment to force the housing away from the sewing mechanism, and means for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperable.

- '14. In a machine of the type described, the

combination of a base, an abutment fixed on said. base, a drive shaft on the base, sewing mechanism operable by said shaft, a housing slidable on said base, a work holder journaled in said housing, means for rotating said work holder, a cam rotatably mounted in said housing, said cam being adapted to engage the abutment on said base for forcing the housing away from the sewing mechanism and means actuated by said cam for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperable.

15. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a base, a rive shaft on said base, a clutch controlling said drive shaft, a clutch lever, a plunger slidable on said base, a projection on said plunger engaging the clutch lever, means yieldingly urging said plunger in a direction to disengage the clutch, manually operable means for moving said plunger in the opposite direction to engage said clutch, means releasably holding said plunger in clutch-engaging position, a sewing mechanism on said base, a rotatable work support movable toward and from said sewing mechanism, means operable in conjunction with the rotation of said work support for releasing said plunger, and means operable in conjunction with the rotation of said work support for moving the support away from the sewing mechanism.

16. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a base, a drive shaft on said base, a clutch controlling said shaft, a clutch lever, a plunger slidable on said base, a projection on said plunger engaging the clutch lever, means yieldingly urging said plunger in a direction to disengage said clutch, manually operable means for moving said plunger in the opposite direction to engage said clutch, said plunger having a recess therein, a latch releasably engaging in said recess to hold said plunger in clutch-engaging position, a sewing mechanism operable by said shaft, a rotatable work support, a lever adapted to engage said latch, and means operable in conjunction with the rotation'of the work support for rocking said lever and releasing said latch.

17. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a base, a drive shaft on said base, a sewing mechanism operable by said drive shaft, a housing slidable on said base, a work holder jcurnaled in said housing, a second shaft on said base projecting into said housing, drive connections between the two shafts on said base, drive connections between the second shaft on said base and said work holder, said last mentioned drive connections being movable relatively with respect to said second shaft, and means rotatable with said work holder for controlling the operation of said sewing mechanism and movement of said housing toward and from said sewing mechanism.

18. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a base, a drive shaft on said base, sewing mechanism operable from said drive shaft, a housing slidable on said base, a work support journaled in said housing, a gear fixed on said work support, a cam gear journaled on said support, drive connections between said drive shaft and said gears, and means operable by said cam gear for forcing the housing away from the sewing mechanism and for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperable.

19. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a sewing mechanism, a main drive shaft, a work support movable toward a position in which said mechanism will engage work carried thereon, means operable from said shaft for revolving said support, and means carried by said support for rendering said sewing mechanism inoperative and for controlling the movement of the support toward and from the position in which the sewing mechanism engages work carried'thereon.

20. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a drive shaft, a sewing mechanism operated from said shaft, a rotatable work support movable into a position for said sewing mechanism to engage work carried thereon, 1105 means operable in timed relation to the revolving work support for moving said support away from the mechanism and means operable by the revolving work support for rendering the sewing mechanism inoperative.

THOMAS H. DE SPAIN. 

